Thank God for Class Reunions
by Dreamin
Summary: Seb invites his best friend Molly to his class reunion.


A/N: Based on a handful of Tumblr prompts.

* * *

Molly Hooper was in the path lab, examining some hair samples for Sherlock, when an engraved invitation landed on the empty space on the table next to her microscope. She looked at it curiously then looked up at the man in front of her.

Sebastian Moran, formerly Moriarty's right hand man and now Mycroft's preferred sniper, smiled at her. "I've got this thing I need to go to next month, on the 8th. Are you free?"

Molly had met the man while he was still Jim's "friend." She was the one who suggested Mycroft take him on after Jim's death, having seen glimpses of the good in him and knowing he just needed a chance. Somewhere along the line, the two of them became best friends and each other's plus one whenever there was a function that needed attending, though so far, it had only been him accompanying her to work functions.

"What is it?" she asked, picking up the invitation. Her eyes lit up when she saw it was a class reunion. "Ooo!"

Seb rolled his eyes. "Twenty years. I haven't thought of those people once in all that time."

She looked up at him. "Then why are you going?"

He grinned. "And miss the chance to make every bloke there jealous? I looked all of them up on Facebook."

"You must've been bored," Molly cut in, smirking. Seb normally avoided social media.

"I was. I'm the only one who still has a full head of hair, the only one who looks better now than at eighteen, and I'll have the most gorgeous woman in the world on my arm." They had been playfully flirting with each other from the beginning, but she knew better than to take it seriously.

Molly smiled a bit. "I didn't realize you'd already asked Gisele Bundchen to go with you."

"You're hotter." He sat on the edge of the table. "So, will you come?"

"What do I get out of it?"

"Another chance to see me in a suit?"

Molly grinned. "Tempting. What else?"

"A chance to get out of the house for a night?"

She waved a hand in dismissal. "If I wanted that, I could just go down to the pub."

"I'd owe you big time."

Her grin widened. "Now there's an incentive. Okay, you've got yourself a guest."

Seb grinned back.

* * *

Molly took one last glimpse of herself in the hallway mirror then she opened her front door. Seb stood there in a charcoal grey suit and a white dress shirt, the first two buttons undone.

 _Damn, he looks good enough to eat. Not that his usual tight jeans and t-shirts aren't sexy._

Seb, meanwhile, was staring at her. Molly smiled to herself, mentally preening. Instead of putting her hair up like she always did, she wore it down in loose waves. The red strapless cocktail dress hugged every curve and the heels showed off her legs to perfection.

"You look amazing," he finally managed to say.

She grinned. "You don't look so bad yourself, Moran." She grabbed her purse then locked her apartment and took his offered arm. "Let's see how many people we can make green with envy."

* * *

"I am way too sober for this," Seb muttered as they walked arm-in-arm into the hotel ballroom.

Molly smiled a bit. "The invitation said it's an open bar, so I'm sure you won't be sober long."

He smirked at her. "Are you calling me a drunk?"

"I'm just saying you prefer to drink when someone else is paying."

"Uh huh." He looked around at all of the people already there. Some were seated at the round tables, several were in a queue at the bar, and a few more were at the refreshment table.

Meanwhile, Molly was only watching him. _He keeps looking around. I know snipers have to be wary, but this is something else._ She smiled to herself. _Big bad Seb Moran is nervous._ "Do you think they remember you?"

He finally turned to her. "I hope not after what I did the last time I saw them."

"What did you do?"

Seb looked past her then winced. "You're about to find out."

Molly turned to see three men of various states of drunkenness approach them, all of them grinning like idiots.

"Sebby!" the most plastered one said as he clapped a hand on Seb's shoulder. "'Bout time you showed up." He looked at Molly, his gaze more of a leer. "Who's your friend? Please tell me you didn't bring one of your sisters again." The three men laughed like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard.

"Dave, Marty, Steve, this is Molly, my-"

"Fiancée," she cut in, grinning. "He was about to call me his girlfriend again, even though he proposed two months ago."

Seb shot her a grateful look then turned to his former classmates. "What can I say, I can't believe she said yes."

"Well, congrats, Sebby," the second man said. "She's a hottie."

"Has she seen the video of your-" the third man asked, pulling his phone from his pocket.

"No, and she's not going to," Seb cut in.

The three men let out sounds of disappointment then one of them noticed there wasn't a line at the bar so they quickly headed that way.

Seb rolled his eyes. "Sorry about that."

"I'm not," Molly said, grinning mischievously. "Sister? A secret video? I need details and I need them now."

"Later," he muttered. "When we're alone."

Seb introduced her to the former classmates who came over, keeping a possessive arm around her. Molly couldn't help loving the attention she was getting from him and had to remind herself that it was all for show. During dinner, one of the women at their table mentioned there would be a video presentation after dessert was served.

"Fuck me," Seb muttered so softly that Molly barely heard it.

"Seb?" she murmured, concerned.

"I'm not looking forward to that." His eyes lit up. "On a scale from one to ten, how bad do you think it would be if-"

"At least a twenty."

He raised an eyebrow. "You didn't let me finish."

"You were either going to suggest we leave early or suggest we sabotage the video."

"And you see those as being equally bad?"

"Yes, Seb." She reached over to take his hand. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"You don't know my school years," he muttered, but didn't let go of her hand.

When the lights dimmed, Seb moved his chair closer to Molly's then wrapped his arm around her. After a moment, he murmured in her ear, "Remember, I'm not the same man I was then."

Molly shivered slightly then murmured back, "You weren't a man then, you were just a boy. You should've seen my teenage years." She softly kissed his cheek. "It'll be fine."

The video started, showcasing a few photos and sometimes a short video of the class. Thankfully, it was a small class. Finally, it was Seb's turn. There was a photo of track star Seb jumping hurdles.

"Nice legs," she murmured, grinning.

Seb chuckled weakly.

Off the track, teenage Seb was awkward and painfully shy.

 _Nothing like he is now,_ Molly thought. She could feel him tensing beside her so she laid a hand on his knee. "It's almost over."

The still photo switched to a video of the class's senior prom. Whoever made the video was offering commentary as he filmed his classmates.

" _Ooo, look! There's Sebby!"_

The camera swung around to the entrance of the gym, where a teenage Seb in an ill-fitting rental tux had just entered with a pretty girl who looked to be a few years older.

" _Who's that babe with him?"_ a nearby boy asked.

" _Oh my God, that's Julia! Sebby brought his SISTER to the prom!"_ Offscreen laughter.

Molly glanced at the man next to her. Seb looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him.

A new video started playing – a clip from the class's graduation ceremony. Seb's name was called and he came up on stage, grinning, then started walking towards the principal to get his diploma. Halfway across, he tripped and fell flat on his face. Both his classmates then and his classmates now started laughing.

"We're leaving," he said abruptly as he stood up.

Deciding not to argue with him, Molly grabbed her bag then hurried to catch up with him as he stormed out. They were halfway across the car park before she was close enough to grab his hand.

"Will you slow down and talk to me?" she asked.

Seb slowed his pace but didn't say anything until they were in the car and he was driving away from the hotel. "I shouldn't have brought you," he muttered. "Stupid mistake. Now you're going to laugh at me too."

"I didn't and I won't," she said gently but firmly. "There's nothing wrong with going to the prom with your sister. I assume she had a car then and you didn't?"

After a moment, he nodded. "It was Mother's idea. She didn't want me going to the prom by myself. She had no idea that going with my sister was worse."

"Were you teased all night?" she asked sympathetically.

"Yeah. It didn't help that Julia became an honorary chaperone and started hanging out with the teachers." He smiled a bit. "But it turned out okay for her – she ended up marrying one of the TA's. They have three kids now."

Molly smiled softly. "That's sweet." After a moment, she asked gently, "Did that faceplant feel as painful as it looked?"

"Worse," he muttered. "I broke my nose and chipped a tooth. Of course, it was all anyone talked about for weeks."

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "Sorry that it happened and sorry that they had to remind you of it tonight." She lightly laid a hand on his thigh. "I don't think any less of you, Seb. You're still my best friend and you're still the biggest badass I know."

Seb didn't say anything for a moment, his jaw tense, then he said quietly, "What if I wanted us to be more than friends? Did seeing my awkward past hurt that chance?"

She stared at him for a heartbeat then a smile slowly spread across her face. "Not at all." She gently rubbed his thigh. "In fact, I think showing me your vulnerable side helped your chances considerably."

He grinned. "Thank God for class reunions."


End file.
